Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Lawmakers, Home Health Therapists Make Last-Ditch Attempts To Stop Medicaid Cuts
In a last-ditch effort to stave off $350 million in cuts to a state Medicaid program that provides therapy to disabled children, federal and state lawmakers are asking the federal government to intervene. Families that have sued the state to stop the cuts before they go into effect July 15 have also asked the Texas Supreme Court to block the cuts by next Friday. (Chang, 6/30)
With two weeks to go before Texas seeks to slash a program's funding that pays for speech, physical and occupational therapy for children with disabilities, therapy providers are announcing new support from state lawmakers in an effort to postpone the budget cuts. It’s the latest development in a last-minute campaign to stop a $350 million cut to Medicaid, the federal-state insurer for the poor and disabled, that state lawmakers ordered in 2015 but has been tied up in court for nearly a year. (Walters, 6/30)
A group of six disabled children and the home care companies that supply their therapy services have asked the Texas Supreme Court to block looming Medicaid rate cuts. The plaintiffs, who suffered a setback in April when a state appellate court threw out their lawsuit, have hired former Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson to appeal the decision. (Garrett, 6/29)
In other Medicaid news —
The Kansas Hospital Association is urging federal officials to stop Gov. Sam Brownback from implementing $56.4 million in Medicaid cuts set to take effect Friday. Brownback ordered the cuts in May to cover shortfalls in the fiscal year 2017 budget approved by the Legislature. The hospital association is asking the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to immediately intervene to stop the cuts, which include a 4 percent reduction in provider payments. (McLean, 6/30)
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is asking the federal government for new funding to cover residential drug treatment at small community facilities and private institutions, such as Sheppard Pratt in Towson. Medicaid now pays only for inpatient treatment at hospitals. (McDaniels, 6/30)
